Bucs Lose Coin Flip - Hardy To Coach

Well, the Bucs lost the coin flip to the Browns, and they now pick 4th overall. The bright side is they still may get who they want, and they will pick ahead of Cleveland in the 2nd round. Beyond that, it sucks. But we'll see what positions they address in the FA market and that should give a good gauge as to where they need to go in the draft.

In other news, Hardy Nickerson has left the booth to go coach for the Bears. He's there LB coach now. I kind of enjoyed having Nickerson back under the Bucs in some fashion, but he was only so-so as a color analyst. We'll have to wait and see who gets picked up to replace him. Quite frankly, I don't know why Brantley was dumped, and I wouldn't be shocked if he's brought back. That might be tough, however, considering he's currently under contract with 1470 AM. I just hope they get someone who's used to speaking on the radio so they can avoid awkward moments that came from Hardy's inexperience. He got better as the year went on, but I prefer seasoned color analysts to first timers.

What's Happening?

Well, I haven't really gotten going yet on blogging about the upcoming FA period primarily because news has been pretty much absent. Well, some of the Bucs' best hopes for improving key areas of the team have been dashed as some key FA targets were franchised. LB Lance Briggs, who was primary target number one for the Bucs to bring in as Brooks' heir apparent, was franchised by Chicago the other day. Also franchised were CB Asante Samuel (NE), and DE Justin Smith. Both were considered targets by the Bucs to improve the two other defensive areas.

There are still other players that look to be available, and some who may become available that current aren't. Once these names start popping up, I'll pass them along. Freeney is still a possibility, along with Adalius Thomas, and others. Unfortunately, the franchise tag is likely to get tossed around a lot this off-season. Luckily for the Bucs, one of their key need areas, Defensive line, is deep with strong talent that will last through their first 3 or 4 picks, so the Bucs should, if they choose, be able to pick-up 2 or three DL's to bolster the line. A UT and a DE are almost a must in this draft unless the Bucs get someone else in here.

The posting will probably start to pick up here next week as we start to get a better grip on who will be available and who won't. Until then...